‘Work like a dog day’ recognises the hardest-working people. On this day, employers show their appreciation for all of their employees who carry the heaviest workloads.
But maybe all of your employees work like dogs, and are suffering for it. Do you know the signs of an employee who may be working too hard? Employees who are stressed may not show obvious signs that they are, but being stressed can have devastating effects on individuals: stress can lead to mental and even physical illness. Of course, as a caring employer you will want to look after your employees and support their overall wellbeing, and stress can also have a negative impact upon your business.
Stressed employees might lose focus at work and therefore your business will experience a loss of productivity. But if the stress goes unnoticed, employees can become ill, which means they could be absent from work, costing you even more. You don’t really need a business reason to know that you should be taking care of your employees, and you can do something to help them if they experience stress just as you can if they have any other illness.
Employees who have overall wellbeing support from their employer will also be more engaged and therefore motivated at work, so supporting their wellbeing mitigates lost productivity, and it could in fact increase it.
Things that affect employee wellbeing and stress:
- Work environment
- Time management
- Health
- Relationships
- Financial worries
You can provide support to help with many of these issues that affect employees; some perhaps you didn’t realise you could help with. You can make sure their work environment is suitable by talking to employees and assessing their working needs; you can provide training for time management and encourage your managers to ensure workloads are appropriate; you can provide healthcare benefits and back-to-work schemes; you can provide counselling and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) to help them with personal issues outside of work; and you can provide education to provide financial knowledge and skills to help alleviate financial worry.
Your employees spend the majority of their time working for you and try their best to deliver what is needed, so doesn’t it make sense for you to take care of them and support them in any way you can?
For more information speak to your usual Jelf consultant or visit our website.